


Joy

by gingayellow



Series: The AU where Shiro is an ex-Borg in Star Trek land but still living out his nerd dreams [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, Gen, I'm hoping to put in more Allura/Shay in the next part, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-03
Updated: 2017-03-03
Packaged: 2018-09-28 00:29:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,289
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10059050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gingayellow/pseuds/gingayellow
Summary: Despite being assimilated by the Borg and dealing with learning to be an individual again, Shiro is happy. [Star Trek AU! Shiro/Keith, Hunk/Lance and Allura/Shay side pairings]





	

Title: Joy  
Fandom: Voltron: Legendary Defender  
Characters/Pairing: Shiro/Keith, Lance/Hunk, Allura/Shay  
Rating: PG  
Disclaimer: Not mine, anything mentioned here by name isn't mine  
Warnings: References to past trauma.  
Notes: Star Trek AU again! You don’t need to read the past fic to know what going one (tl;dr Shiro is an ex-Borg, Hunk is a Klingon, Lance is a Boring Human, Pidge is a Romulan, and Allura, Coran, Keith are Bajorans), but I am making this a verse, so that you can find the previous fic more easily if needed.

\--

The _U.S.S. Voltron_ was a small ship so there was only so much room for the Bajoran Gratitude Festival, but Hunk and Allura had somehow managed to squeeze in everything they’d need. The scent of bateret leaves was in the air (after Lance had checked the safeties and made sure that they could have small fires without destroying the ship, of course), and various crewmen were filling out their renewal scrolls—Shiro winced as he watched as Doctor Coran scribbled something that looked like _Hunk keeps thwarting me in the kitchen_ on his scroll before tossing it in the fire.

As for himself… Shiro still held a blank scroll in his hand. He wasn’t even sure where to begin. The Borg had taken so much from him—his right arm, years of his life, any solid sense of self—that he found his hand shaking every time he tried to turn his thoughts into words—nevermind that the arm was the one Borg implant Coran could never remove, and it should have been perfect, like any other machine—

Shiro took a deep breath. Everyone had worked so hard for this. He wasn’t going to let his own worries ruin everyone else’s chance for renewal.

“There you are!” Hunk laughed heartily as he grabbed Shiro in an almost too tight hug. “Honestly, Commander, you should try hunting Targ with me next time I visit Kronos—you’re quieter than a ghost; you’d always have the advantage of surprise.”

“I’ll make some time in my calendar,” Shiro said with a weak laugh, because he was (fairly) sure that Hunk was joking. “Have you had a chance to burn your scroll yet?”

Hunk nodded glumly. “It has been a year that could wound the heart of even the greatest warrior.”

Shiro nodded. “That was a pretty close call with Lance last time, hunh?”

“Yeah, but I’m okay now!” Lance said maybe just a bit too cheerily as he rested a hand on Hunk’s stomach. “C’mon, Hunk, I wanna mingle.”

Hunk smiled slowly, resting his forehead with Lance’s. “Of course, my love. Let me just make sure—”

“Or you could make your boyfriend happy,” Shiro reminded Hunk gently with an equally gentle shove in the security chief’s direction.

“Hm,” Hunk said as he was smushed against Lance. “This… works too.”

“Exactly!” Lance grinned brightly at Hunk, and then glanced over his shoulder at Shiro. He mouthed _Thank you_ before they left for snacks.

 _Anytime, buddy,_ Shiro mouthed back before going off to mingle himself. Perhaps he couldn’t put aside his own grief tonight, but at least he could help with others. After Lance’s difficult recovery (and the sleepless nights Hunk had endured by his side), they deserved all the joy they could get.

Speaking of… “Hey, Pidge.”

“Hey,” she replied, not looking away from her scroll. “You know, we don’t have anything like this on Romulus.”

“Well,” Shiro said as he took a seat next to her, “what do you do on Romulus?” Federation knowledge on the culture was limited at best.

“You don’t,” she said with a shrug. “Any written record of personal weakness could be exploited by your political enemies.”

“Oh. Well, that sounds festive.”

“I wasn’t quite sure what to put down as a result, but Captain Altea insists it’s be good for my character or whatever, and I don’t want to make the lady who lets a Romulan live and work on her ship mad, so…”

“What?!” Allura looked positively scandalized as she glided from her wife Shay to her chief engineer and first officer. “Pidge, I only suggested that it might help ease your burden, I never expected you to feel obligated!”

“It’s not a big deal.” Pidge smirked. “I mean, you’re way nicer than how my teachers were when I had to—”

“Pidge, you are a free citizen now, and your father and brother will be as well as you rescue them,” Allura said firmly. “Now, put your scroll in the fire. Or don’t. It’s your choice.”

Pidge gazed thoughtfully at Allura, then Shiro.

Shiro smiled at Pidge. “Like the Captain said, it’s your choice.”

After a moment, Pidge tossed her scroll in the fire. “I’m hoping to put aside all the times my plans to save my family fell through so I can, um.” She rubbed at her eyes. “You know.”

“We understand.” Allura placed a gentle hand on Pidge’s shoulder. Then, with the mischievous gleam that only Starfleet captains seemed to possess, she said, “Shall we go make fun of Lance now?”

Pidge smiled brightly, and they ran off, stopping only to enlist Shay in their scheme.

Shiro… he wasn’t exactly joyous, but he was content. The people he cared for were happy (even Coran seemed a bit more relaxed now that he’d burned his scroll), and that was all Shiro could ask for, really. But that also reminded him, there was one more person he needed to check on. And after a little searching, he found Keith looking out at the stars.

“You burn your scroll yet?” Shiro rested his chin on Keith’s shoulder.

Keith shook his head. “I don’t need to. I have you back; that’s all the joy I’ll ever need.”

Shiro felt warmth flood his body. “Flatterer.” But then he grew serious as he pushed some stray bangs out of Keith’s eyes. “Thank you for saving me. I don’t think I ever said that properly.”

“You never had to.” Keith’s gaze was steady even as he shifted, his hands resting on Shiro’s biceps.

“Yeah, but Keith, you gave up your career just on the possibility—”

“I always knew I would you.”

“That’s sweet, Keith, but—”

“I knew.” Keith’s tone was resolute. “Look,” he said as he interlaced his fingers with Shiro’s Borg ones, “I was never the most pious Bajoran ever. But Pidge and I were laying low on Bajor awhile back, and this Vedek told me to follow her. And you don’t just ignore Vedeks when they beckon to you, even when you’re on the run from pretty much every government in the quadrant, so I followed, and um. She took me to an Orb.”

“Oh.” Shiro only knew what he read in Starfleet’s reports, but he knew that the visions people experience were intense, and often came true in some way. “Um. Do you want to tell me what you saw?”

“You.” Keith smiled, a little. “Out in the stars—and pointing to a system that I asked Pidge to examine the next day. And well, one thing led to another and…”

“And you found me.”

“And I found you.” Keith smiled much more now, and Shiro felt—he felt real joy at that, because it reminded him of the sharp-edged but brilliant young pilot he’d first met. “And then Allura showed up and made me a lieutenant and her ship’s pilot, so I think I’m good.”

Shiro smiled back. “Then I’m good, too.”

\--

Final Notes: The gratitude festival is actually part of the Bajoran faith, as described in the DS9 episode "Fascination." Anyways, DS9 is good and on Netflix, so I suggest trying a few eps to keep you entertained until VLD S3 drops.


End file.
